Carl, who rarely showed an openly flustered face, hurriedly tried to make amends.

“No wonder. Hmm, it does look like a puppy.”

“Never mind? I know I didn’t make it well.”

Of course, it didn’t work at all.

Honestly, even I could see that the crumpled shape on one side of the handkerchief looked more like poop than a puppy.

That’s why I couldn’t give it to anyone and kept it myself.

How ugly must it have been for even Mandy, who never said bad things to me, to reluctantly recommend giving up.

Carl, who had finished wiping the drink from his pants and was watching my reaction, tried hard to praise it.

“No, you really made it well. Can I have it?”

“Hmph, the lump of poop?”

“I misspoke. It was a poop puppy. And since I gave you a flower, the master should give me something too, right?”

“Really……”

He just gave it to me and now he’s demanding a return gift from me.

It was absurd, but it wasn’t completely wrong either, and I didn’t feel bad about it, so I nodded as if doing him a favor.

“Take it if you want it.”

“Okay.”

Carl quickly folded the handkerchief neatly and put it in his pocket.

A faint smile formed at the corners of his mouth. Does he like the poop puppy handkerchief that much?

‘I’m also…… kind of proud.’

It felt like the handkerchief I had worked hard to embroider finally found its purpose, so the corners of my mouth also slightly curled up.

Thus the founding festival came to an end.

That night.

With midnight just around the corner, I took out the flowers I had received from the male leads.

A jewel flower, a magic stone flower, a holy power flower.

I laid out the various flowers and called up the system window.

Look! I collected them all!

【Congratulations! Sixth Mission Clear!

Currently all male leads’ favorability has increased,

and as a reward, we will provide a hint for the next mission.

Hint: Let’s value review! ( •̀ω•́ )و✧】

“……?”

Are you kidding me right now.

‘What kind of hint is this?!’

You should at least tell me what to review!

Despite my protest, the system window didn’t bat an eye.

【Yawn, I’m sleepy ᴗ.ᴗᶻ ᶻ ᶻ

Then have a good night♬】

Good night my foot, come back!

I kept calling the system window that had greeted me on its own and disappeared, but there was no response.

This is nothing but a complete scammer!

The Scandal Is Too Much

After the founding festival ended, the Celsior ducal family formally proposed marriage to Linus.

It was a relatively light proposal to start with an engagement.

‘I’m sorry, but I want to choose the person who will be by my side myself. I have no intention of entering a political marriage.’

The rejection was more resolute than expected.

The empress also maintained an attitude of respecting her son’s wishes, leaving only the Celsior ducal family who had brought up the topic in an embarrassing situation.

Especially Johanna, who had received a flower from Linus and confidently reported it to her father, even received a scolding.

‘How did you handle this matter? Did you really plant a good image in the crown prince’s mind?!’

The flower he had given her had already withered, and Johanna was furious.

‘He rejected me?! Where in the empire is there anyone more suitable for the position of crown princess  than me……!’

Unable to bear it any longer, she went to meet Linus directly.

She sharply confronted him as he greeted her with an expressionless face.

“Why did you reject the engagement? There’s no one else who can help Your Highness as much as I can.”

“Well, I’ve already received important help from another young lady.”

“Who is that?”

“Do I have an obligation to tell you that?”

Linus replied coldly. He was only having this conversation without driving her away because she was Lady Celsior.

Johanna, whose pride was severely wounded, clenched her fists tightly.

Suddenly she remembered Shailyn, whom she had encountered in the reception room on the first day of the founding festival.

“……Could it be Lady Sharofe?”

“If so, will you accept it and withdraw?”

“Your Highness…… that young lady is merely staying temporarily with the Diart ducal family, but she’s originally from a humble family. Don’t you truly know this fact?”

“You don’t need to lecture me since I know it well, so it would be good for you to leave now.”

Linus firmly sent her away. As she left the imperial castle as if being driven out, Johanna gritted her teeth.

‘So he’s rejecting me because of some insignificant young lady?’

Her red eyes burned coldly. Her lips, torn from being pressed down by this, leaked a bit of blood.

Glaring at the receding imperial castle, Johanna swore.

‘I’ll make that woman miserably ruined so he’ll regret it……!’

***

On a leisurely afternoon.

With no new missions and not long after the founding festival ended, a letter arrived for me as I was enjoying my free time.

「To Lady Sharofe」

The sender was surprisingly Lady Celsior.

「I’ve thought a lot since we met at the imperial castle. I feel like I don’t want to continue being at odds with you anymore.」

The conclusion of the letter, written in an incredibly kind and gentle tone, was simple.

She wanted to get along well from now on, so she asked me to come to a party she was hosting.

‘Oh…… I hate that.’

Her reflecting on herself was one thing, but there was no reason I had to accept it.

When I already knew everything about how she had instigated Janice with words to cause trouble.

Get along well with the lady? Am I crazy? When I don’t know when she might stab me in the back?

Still, since I had received an invitation from no less than a lady, I wrote a polite rejection letter and sent it.

But…….

“Miss, Lady Celsior has sent another invitation.”

I frowned looking at the fourth letter that had arrived without her getting tired.

“Why is she like this, really.”

Why is she suddenly obsessing and pretending to be friendly?

Now it was too much trouble and bothersome to write replies, so I just ignored them.

I turned a blind eye to the lady’s invitations as if I hadn’t received them.

Anyway, our relationship wasn’t good, so there was no reason to suddenly get criticized, and it wasn’t like Lady Celsior was the only lady in the world that I had to be mindful of.

Instead, I attended other parties to maintain more than adequate influence as befitting a social queen.

The haughty Lady Celsior was famous for rarely attending parties unless they were ones she hosted or imperial parties.

But—

“Lady Sharofe, it’s really hard to see your face, isn’t it?”

Why is the lady coming out here?

I was flustered when I encountered the lady after attending the McCall family’s party.

Unlike me, the lady smiled warmly and took my hand.

“You must have been very busy? There was no response to my invitations…… but you attend here.”

Unlike the voice that seemed to be made as gentle as possible, her eyes were very cold.

Her voice, expression, and eyes were all acting separately, which gave me chills.

‘Wow, she must be quite angry.’

But what could I do about not wanting to be friends? She should think about what she’s done to me all this time.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t send a reply because I was briefly bedridden after visiting the imperial castle.”

I replied pitifully, pressing the back of my hand to my forehead. Then the lady’s brow twitched.

I could clearly see the corners of her mouth, which were trying hard to smile, trembling.

“Ah, is that so? I wasn’t considerate enough. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Then your health is okay now, right? Our family is planning to host a cruise party this time, and I really want to invite you, Lady Sharofe.”

The lady spoke in a loud voice as if for the surrounding people to hear.

This puts me in a difficult position.

While I could ignore private letters without others knowing, if I rejected the lady’s invitation even in a public place…….

‘Instead, there might be backlash against me for being rude.’

I realized that the arrogant lady hadn’t attended Countess McCall’s party for no reason and let out a hollow laugh.

‘How do I reject this?’

In a situation where I had to rush toward the game ending, I didn’t want to waste time getting entangled with her unnecessarily.

The lady, who had been quietly watching me rack my brain, spoke.

“By the way, many distinguished guests like His Highness the Crown Prince and the head priest will also be attending.”

The crown prince and the head priest……?

I hesitated because they were clearly words referring to two male leads.

‘They’re even the second and third in favorability rankings.’

From my position of needing to gain their favor as much as possible, it was a gathering I couldn’t simply ignore.

Especially since the lady originally had a close relationship with the head priest and seemed interested in the crown prince too.

After calculating this and that, I smiled brightly and came to a conclusion.

“It would be an honor if you invite me. I’ll make sure to attend.”

“That’s great. Finally, I can resolve the grudge that had built up with the young lady and become friends.”

The lady also smiled smoothly and shook my hand.

Of course, neither of us was smiling sincerely.